I just bought a 2006 Sportster 1200C. It started to run rough today, sputtering and popping. My riding buddy says its running too rich. It has a stage 1 kit. Should I take it back to the dealer to get the ECU re-flashed? I have only put 40 miles on it. Any thing else I should look into?

 

Your bike has a carb so there is no ECU to re-flash.

Check the rubber seals where your carb slips in the intake and where the intake mounts to the heads. The bolts could be loose or the rubber is bad. You can spray wd40 on the intake seals while the bike is idling to see if it skips worse.

There is more but this is a good place to start.



PS: The service manual for your year and make bike is your best friend. This is also covered in the troubleshooting area of the manual...



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ckevroll, welcome to HDF from the UK. The manual xFreebirdx refers to is the factory one. Save yourself time and money by buying that, not any of the cheaper ones!

 

Were your 40 miles all one ride or a bunch of short ones? At what point did the bike start to sputter (at idle, at acceleration, while cruising). As mentioned before, your bike is carb'd and the symptoms you spoke of are the same thing the bike does when it's running out of gas. what position is your petcock in? Is the tank full?

 

Running 91 octane or higher ( I run 93 as that is what they sell around here ) . Occassionally I dump a can of Sea Foam into My tank to make sure no water or build up remains in the fuel. Might just be a bad tank of gas ?.......WVleo

 

Another question is how long you're running with the enricher out (the "choke"). The enricher should be closed as soon as possible otherwise you'll foul the plugs.

 

Dealership filled the tank. The 40 miles were all in one ride. I run the choke maybe 3-5 minutes, just long enough to keep it from stalling out. I do not own a manual because I just bought it used. I still need to check to see if the EPA plug is intact.

 

According to some of the geniuses on Herr you should only use the choke to start the bike. Then shut it off and use the throttle lock to keep it running till it is warm.

 

You are using the choke for to long. If it's warm outside (+ 50f), use the choke for 5-10 seconds only. If you are warming up before riding, twist the throttle and use the thumb screw to hold the idle speed. Remove the spark plugs. If they are black, replace them.